Glassware articles, for instance, glass containers, are typically molded at two stations of a forming machine of the type known as an individual section (I.S.) machine. In a blank station, a molten gob of glass is received and molded into a parison of a finished container by a blank mold including separable blank mold sections (e.g., halves) that are moved together to define a blank mold cavity for forming the parison. After forming of the parison, the blank mold sections are separated, and an invert mechanism transfers the glass parison to a blow station that includes a blow mold body that has separable blow mold sections (e.g. halves) that are moved together to define a blow mold cavity for forming the finished glassware container shape. In the blow station, the parison is received into the blow mold cavity and blow molded into the finished container shape by a blow mold operation. After forming of the finished container, the blow mold sections are separated and a take-out mechanism removes the formed container from the I.S. machine for further processing. The I.S. machine also includes mold hangers for mounting and carrying the mold sections. A U.S. patent that illustrates a machine of this type for molding glass containers is U.S. Pat. No. 7,698,907.
A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide an apparatus to measure the temperature of a glassware mold that is more reliable and less susceptible to damage compared to a conventional thermocouple or infrared camera.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus is provided to sense temperature in a glassware forming machine. The apparatus includes a mold body including an exterior surface, a mold cavity having an interior mold surface, and a blind hole having a closed end including a closed end surface adjacent to and spaced outwardly from the interior mold surface, wherein the blind hole extends outwardly from the closed end surface toward the exterior surface. The apparatus also includes a mold hanger on which the mold body is removably carried, and a light collector carried by the mold hanger to collect infrared light emitted within the blind hole.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a glassware forming apparatus includes a glassware mold body including a longitudinally extending inboard axis, an inboard side, an outboard side, a lower end, and an upper end, a mold cavity in the inboard side for forming a glassware article, and a blind hole in the glassware mold body extending outwardly toward an exterior surface of the mold body from a closed end surface of the blind hole adjacent to an interior surface of the mold body cavity. Also, the apparatus includes a mold hanger disposed at the outboard side of the mold body and on which the mold body is removably carried and including an inboard side, an outboard side, a lower end, and an upper end, and a hanger hole extending between the outboard side and the inboard side in alignment with the blind hole of the mold body. Additionally, the apparatus includes a pyrometric apparatus including a pyrometer, and a light collector at least partially disposed in the hanger hole to collect infrared light from the blind hole for transmission to the pyrometer.